Chase Elliott hasn’t lit the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs on fire. The 2020 champion squeaked into the round of 12, though his fifth-place finish last week got the round started on the right foot. 

Elliott started the 2025 Hollywood Casino 400 positively, finishing Stage 2 in second to earn seven key stage points. However, he ran into some trouble with Trackhouse racing driver Daniel Suarez. 

Elliott, who finished 15th the last time the Cup Series stopped in Kansas, took offense to Suarez’s driving style as he chased down Denny Hamlin (the leader) in Stage 1. 

His spotter Trey Poole said: “What the —- is the 99 doing? Just casually racing us laps down?”

For Elliott, every stage point matters. He reached the playoffs in 2024 after missing out in 2023, but a 29th-place showing in Talladega and a 33rd-place showing in Las Vegas derailed his chances of advancing to the Championship 4. 

After the Hollywood Casino 400, Elliott will also have the Bank of America Roval 400 in Charlotte (another track he’s had success at) to clinch a spot in the Round of 8. After that, the circuit will stop on Las Vegas, Talladega, and Mintesville before moving to Phoenix for the finale.Â